Frozen in Time.

It's ten years since I moved from Australia. My friends and I try to keep in touch, but the truth is we're in different worlds, different time-zones, and our lives are moving in different directions.  It's always great to see them when I visit, but then I get back here and we fall back into our quite irregular contact.

Last week I was thinking about people I knew before I  moved here. Not friends, as such, but people I worked with, people I saw at social events, even students. Some of them I see online.  It's great to see ex-students, for example, getting older, finding careers, getting married and having children. Not all the people I knew back then are online or in my friendship group.

I found myself wondering how an old student was getting on, and I realised that for me that person is still about 16 years old.  I've not seen or heard anything about them since I last taught them, so in my mind they haven't aged at all. They're not going to be like that now, of course, but that is how I see them.

This happens to everyone when we move out of their circle.  We preserve them in time, at the age and stage of life we knew them.  The teacher at school is still 35 and eating a packed lunch out of a paper bag, the neighbour is still listening to the Allman Brothers at high volume, the student never quite leaves school.

But we move on. We grow, evolve, change. We gather experience and learn. Misfortune occurs and our worldview alters, and sometimes our personalities. Careers advance or change, children are born, grey hair appears.  Decades pass, and my high-school friend is still a sixteen year old lover of football,  not the CEO of a tech company.

Surely there is someone in Australia who remembers me as the twenty-five year old colleague, the 40 year old student, the 50 year old teacher. They have no reason to update that picture, and I can guarantee they wouldn't even be able to imagine much of what I do these days.

Soon I will be catching up with an old friend, my best friend from High School. We last spent any real time together when I was around nineteen. Over the years we bumped into each other occasionally, and it was great to chat and laugh. He's not on social media, but we've kept in minimal contact through his wife. Now they're coming here, and we'll be catching up over dinner.  Our first proper catchup since the early 80s.

I know what he's been doing, I know where his life took him.  I have some idea of what he's doing now.  But to me there is still so much of him that is the eighteen year old friend who shared so much time with me.

I'm really looking forward to it.

Life in Lincoln.

It’s almost 5 months since Lindsey and I made the move from Australia to the UK. Recently a few people have asked after us, so I thought I’d write a bit about what we’re up to and how we’re doing. I suspect this might be a bit longer than many of my posts.

(The TL;DR version will be in the last paragraph.)

Lindsey and I have settled in the old part of a village just a few miles out of Lincoln. Our cottage is around 230 years old, and is warm, cosy and feels welcoming. We’re friendly with our neighbours, and even socialise with them. The pub is 100 yards down the road, and although we only drop in every few weeks, the Landlord knows me by name and chats to me. A fantastic fish and chip shop is only a short walk away.

My commute to work is a comfortable 12 minutes. I have to drive through Lincoln itself and past the Cathedral, and on mornings when traffic is heavy I need to add an extra two minutes to my journey. On the way I listen to BBC Lincolnshire – Scott Dalton in the morning, who is friendly and personable. It’s a gentle rural station and mostly plays classic pop, as listeners tend to be older. But the morning show and its discussions is how I learn about local issues, politics and events.

I love the school at which I’m employed. Although the buildings are just over 100 years old, the school has a 900 year history. It’s said to be haunted, and on the internet there are first-hand reports of encounters going back decades. I have spoken to staff who have had experiences and even sightings. As for me, there is one incident which I find difficult to explain, although I’m sure many would simply scoff at it.

My colleagues are fantastic, and I enjoy being with them. The school demographic is quite similar to the school I left in Australia. The issues, the behaviours and discussions are strangely familiar. There are a lot of similarities in the curricula, however the focus has just been different enough to make me work at getting my head around it all.

Lincoln is a wonderful small city. Population is around 100,000, including outlying villages, and as such it’s small enough for me to easily find my way around. Dominated by the 1000 year old Cathedral and Castle, there’s more than enough history to keep any of my History teaching colleagues entertained for ages. Plenty of Roman ruins too. And the fossil of a plesiosaur that was found under a local primary school. Art galleries, museums and gardens. Lots to do here.

Plenty of entertainment venues too, with theatre, cinema, music venues and more. And all close and reasonably priced. Some fine restaurants as well. And I can buy Vegemite in the local supermarket.

I feel at home here. Always have. Lindsey’s family makes me very welcome, as do my neighbours, colleagues and students. As I was born in the UK, I actually feel a connection with the land. The weather doesn’t worry me (Remember, I lived in Japan for 6 years where winters snowed and could get very cold) and I prefer the cooler climes to those hot Australian summers. As my friend Peter would say, I get burnt if I walk past the toaster in the morning. I really do have a pale Scottish complexion.

We moved here with a two-year plan, for a number of reasons. Employment, pace of life, a sense of community, access to Europe, time with Lindsey’s family, some connection with my ancestral past, art, music, culture, history, and so on. On Facebook, you've possibly seen Lindsey and I taking every opportunity to attend events. Everything from rock music to classical, folk to swing. We’ve been to galleries, castles, manor homes, gardens, a 1940s weekend, and a steampunk festival. My employment seems to be working out, we spend time with Lindsey’s family, we’ve connected with our neighbours, started becoming involved in aspects of the village community, and visited Amsterdam during the summer. We have a trip to Venice planned after Christmas.

Many people have asked me which I prefer, Australia or the UK. The truth is neither. They're both wonderfully different. We never left Australia because we didn’t enjoy our lives there. Of course there were aspects that we felt disappointed with, but none were deal-breakers. 

Is life perfect here?

No. No country is perfect. For a start they play this weird sport they call football where they only have 11 players on a team (not 18), the ball is round, and no one takes a speccy. And they all have funny accents.

Has it all been plain sailing?

Yes, for the most part. Any issues we’ve had have been rather minor. I guess the biggest were the self-doubts I experienced a month or so into my new job when I felt overwhelmed by everything new I was learning. But that passed with a week or so.

Of course I miss my family and my friends. So far I’ve yet to make friends here. There are plenty of people with whom I’m friendly, neighbours and colleagues, but there’s no-one yet who will ring me and ask me to come and hang while listening to music and sipping a beer, or shooting pool, or whatever. But I’ve only been here since July. And I’ve only been at my school since September. These things take time.

And remembering that I’ve only been here four months is important. It’s still, what many would call, the honeymoon period. Sure, I no longer hesitate while counting out change. I don’t think the electrical sockets look weird anymore. I automatically say ‘trainers’ instead of ‘runners’ and ‘crisps’ instead of ‘potato chips’. Heck, when I talk about soccer to the kids, I even say ‘football.’ But it’s still early days, no matter how well I’m fitting in and feeling at home. And things might change. I’m well aware of that.

(Here’s the TL;DR part)

But so far so good. Being here feels right. We've found pretty much everything we were looking for. And Lindsey and I are enjoying ourselves here. I feel less stressed.

Even the dogs are loving it here. They seem relaxed, and certainly enjoy all the walks this village has to offer.

Life is good.

The Stars Align.

 I love it when a good plan comes together, and my current plan to move to the UK in July is certainly doing that.

Everything, it seems, is simply falling into place. Selling our house here, finding a rental in England, flights for us, relocating our beloved dogs and shipping our possessions. And then last night one of the largest puzzle pieces eased into position.

After a telephone interview I was offered a teaching post at a school quite close to where we will be living. Not only is it fantastic to know I will have some income and job security upon arrival, but this is a school that was on my shortlist of places I would love to work. And this was a very short list of only two.

I submitted three job applications last week. Two were to schools near my future home that weren't on my shortlist, although I have no doubt I'd have been very happy working at either of them. But I am excited I was successful so early. Having employment already organised will certainly make our transition easier and less worrying.

There are other events occurring. Wheels are turning, cogs are moving, planets are aligning and signs are written in the stars. Strange things are indeed afoot at the Circle K. I won't go into details, except that even sceptical friends are shaking their head and saying this move is meant to be.

I feel energised, not only about teaching, but about my writing. A couple of rejections in the past week - personal rejections that were encouraging yet caused me to sigh with an "oooh, so close." I've been so busy with the move for the past few months that my writing (and this page) have been neglected. This, of course, will improve shortly. Before the big move even, as I start to wind down my life here.

But not this week. I still have too much to do before I can afford to relax too much.

The Countdown Continues.

I only have a few short months left before I make the big move over to the UK.

When my wife and I first decided to go, it all seemed so far away. As usual, however, time passes very quickly when there are deadlines and much to do. But we are progressing well, right on schedule in fact, and we'll be ready when the time comes.

There was a lot of culling - furniture, clothes and even books. There will be more items that need to go, but not until the last minute.

Our flights are booked, as are the flights for our dogs. They're getting used to sleeping in their crates and seem to quite enjoy them.

A lot of people have asked whether I have found employment in the UK. Not yet. It's still a bit early for that as their school year doesn't commence until September. But we have found a place to live, and I have made initial contact with a few schools in the area.

I will be at Continuum in June, for those who want to catch up and buy me a drink. I guess my next convention will be somewhere in the UK.

I'm excited by the prospect of the move. New life, new experiences, new people to annoy. And, I must add, a little nervous by venturing into the unknown. But I figure that if I can live in Japan for six years, I can manage a few years in my homeland.

Thinkin' Of Lincoln.

This is a year of change.

One of the reasons I've been away from the blog and from writing is my attentions and efforts have been focused elsewhere.  In late June I will be moving, and this is taking a lot of planning, preparation and effort.

I have been granted a two year leave of absence from my school and so Lindsey and I will be moving to the UK - more specifically, a village just outside Lincoln, England.

Lincoln is a beautiful, historic city, with a magnificent cathedral, castle, and two magna-cartas. The city is also famous for Stokes High Bridge café, the Lincoln Steampunk Festival and Steep Hill.

Less well known are my in-laws, although a major part of this decision is to spend more time with them. Of course in return they have to put up with me.

Let the adventure commence!